ICYMI: These are the top stories we published over the weekend

Monday

May 19, 2014 at 9:00 AM

Here's your chance to catch up on the weekend's news. These are some of the top stories we posted on rrstar.com over the weekend, including the possible razing of two housing complexes downtown, a possible property tax increase for mental health and substance abuse services, plus the Rockford area continues the fight to get "above water" with many mortgages.

Here’s your chance to catch up on the weekend’s news. These are some of the top stories we posted on rrstar.com over the weekend.

Transform Rockford MonthlyThis week we started a monthly special section that will analyze the Transform Rockford movement. This takes an in-depth look at the issues plaguing Rockford, especially crime. Read all the stories, as well as other Transform Rockford content, at rrstar.com/transformrockford. See below for some of this weeks' stories.

Rockford Housing Authority considers tearing down Brewington Oaks towersThe Rockford Housing Authority has hired Larson & Darby Group to determine whether the Brewington Oaks towers, the 45-year-old public housing complexes south of downtown, are still functional and worth modernizing. If they aren’t, the authority could ask permission from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to tear down the buildings at College Avenue and Seminary Street and relocate Brewington Oaks residents. The towers provide housing for senior citizens and people with disabilities.

Winnebago County may add tax for mental health, substance abuse servicesWinnebago County residents may get a chance to consider a property tax increase that would generate revenue for mental health and substance abuse services. County board member John Guevara, who heads the Public Safety Committee, said such a tax question could appear on the ballot within the next few years.

Nearly 1 in 3 Rockford-area mortgages still under waterAccording to Florida-based Lender Processing Services, 29.7 percent of mortgage holders in Boone and Winnebago counties were “underwater” on their mortgages at the end of 2013, meaning they owed more than what the home is now worth. In many respects, the fact that the proportion of underwater mortgages fell below 30 percent represents a triumph. At the end of 2011, the Rockford-area rate peaked at 52.4 percent, and it has been falling ever since as the real estate market improves.